Allowing girls to wear pants at school isn't a radical step - it's a practical one

By Grace Campbell

11 March 2018 — 1:48pm

In the wake of the female empowerment movements around the globe, what better way to empower young women than to begin at school, addressing the things we wear every day.

My school, Santa Sabina College, has just done that, changing our uniform so that girls like me can now choose to wear shorts or pants, or if we prefer, a skirt or dress, on any particular day.

This isn’t just about being able to wear pants; it’s about having the freedom to choose.

Santa Sabina College students Matilda Ball, Grace Campbell and Sophie Graham sport the new uniforms.Credit:Jessica Hromas

We are in the 21st century and this step forward should be an obvious one for a girls school. If a student feels uncomfortable in a dress, they shouldn’t be made to wear one. By offering a choice, girls can feel comfortable and confident in their own skin.

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My school believes that girls have unlimited potential and can achieve incredible things. It values choice and equality, and offers us a broad list of subjects and activities to choose from. Now, we can choose our uniform too.

Many people looking at this from the outside may see it as a radical and drastic step, allowing girls to wear pants, but I view it as a practical one.

I have been wearing the current uniform, a tunic, for three years now. In my drama classes, it has been restricting trying to do some scenes or physical warm-ups while wearing a dress.

Now if I have any subjects like drama that require movement, I can choose an outfit that won’t make me feel constricted.

Our learning will improve too, as the uniform is comfortable and has been designed to be lightweight and breathable for the hot climate. We learn best when we are comfortable.

The options at school will reflect what we choose to wear in our normal lives. I do a lot of drama on the weekends too and I often opt for pants or shorts for movement. I don’t want that choice to be taken away from me on a Monday morning.

The new skirt and dress, as well as the shorts and pants, provide a new forward thinking approach to school life. Both styles reflect a modern society.

Nobody cares if we wear pants one day then a skirt the next. The really great thing about this uniform change is that I can choose whatever I feel like wearing to school each day and just get on with it.

Some see this as an incredibly revolutionary thing, but in my opinion, being able to choose a pair of shorts when I get up in the morning is just normal.